Presents a modification of a procedure for making and launching hot air balloons made out of garbage bags. Student instructions for balloon construction, launching instructions, and scale diagrams are included. (DDR)

Presents an activity that begins with a discussion that leads into the rationale behind the techniques used in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program. Students decode a message intended for extraterrestrials and consider a number of topics related to the possible existence of extraterrestrials. (DDR)

Explains the process of establishing a scientific community among students. Specifically addresses questions related to classroom environment, the beginning of the school year, and the types of experiments and activities used throughout the year to enable students to be successful in science. (DDR)

Provides technical information about digital photography including cost, quality, and applications in classrooms. Recommends that digital cameras be used for student classroom presentations and record keeping. (DDR)

Presents a classroom activity in which students communicated with U.S. and Russian astronauts via ham radio while they were in orbit on the space station Mir. Gives suggestions for other ham radio classroom activities as well as names of organizations, publications, and grant programs that teachers can access to help in bring ham radio into their…

Presents activities in which elementary and middle school students work together to gain environmental awareness about oil spills. Involves students experiencing a simulated oil spill and attempting to clean it up. Discusses the use of children's literature after the activity in evaluation of the activity. (JRH)

Discusses the metric system. Presents an activity in which students construct their own standards of measurement by taking advantage of materials available in the classroom. (MKR)

Describes a program aimed at assisting high school physics teachers with incorporating modern physics concepts into the curriculum. Summer and academic year activities are described. Project evaluation indicates the project promoted modern physics instruction and an increase in teacher self-esteem. (DDR)

Discusses the history of the use of pesticides and biological control. Introduces the concept of biological control as illustrated in the use of the entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis and highlights laboratory demonstrations of Koch's postulates. Includes an exercise that offers the student and teacher several integrated learning…

Describes an apparatus for demonstrating the second law of motion. Provides sample data and discusses the merits of this method over traditional methods of supplying a constant force. The method produces empirical best-fit lines which convincingly demonstrate that for a fixed mass, acceleration is proportional to force. (DDR)

Describes an inquiry-based activity involving paper airplanes that has been used as a preservice training tool for instructors of a Native American summer science camp, and as an activity for demonstrating inquiry-based methods in a secondary science methods course. Focuses on Bernoulli's principle which describes how fluids move over and around…

Presents an activity that requires middle level students to use mathematics and measurement skills to estimate the mass of an extinct dinosaur using museum-quality models. (JRH)

Describes the Science Exchange Program that aims at increasing children's knowledge and use of the Internet and teaching them how commonplace items such as shells, rocks, and other natural materials differ throughout the world. Involves students from different countries connecting through the Internet. (JRH)

Describes a project where students download seismological data from the Internet and use the data to plot earthquakes on a world map. Combines elements of geography, mathematics, and science. (JRH)

Describes an activity that enables students to understand that there are many substances and odors carried in the flow of water. Students identify and describe a variety of natural and introduced materials found in bodies of water, and observe the effects of silt, sand, gravel and odor sources on water. (DDR)